When the same Christmas carols play constantly, the coffees at Starbucks get more complicated and expensive, and holiday advertisements bombard you, you know it’s that time of year. Along with all the fun and festivities of Christmas, there’s an equal amount of things that just drive us nuts.
When the holiday season rolls around, I am overcome with excitement for gift giving, gingerbread, and snow. Then, almost instantly, I come to the realization of what this means. Gift giving means spending a lot of money on illusionary Christmas bargains. Gingerbread means me building a gingerbread house which soon collapses because of my inability to make vegan icing. Then, of course, we rarely have a white Christmas. It’s just downright cold. Behind all the hype, there are so many things that bother me around this time of year. I was curious to find other “pet peeves,” I could investigate, and adopt myself, about Christmas time.
Other cynics of Christmas proved bothersome holiday habits aren’t hard to find. Many have pointed out that picking out a Christmas tree is one of the most excruciating tasks. You have to find one that everyone can agree on, drag it home, then decorate and make sure it doesn’t die or catch on fire. In addition, I was told multiple Christmas tree disaster stories. One girl in my Sociology class explained how her aunt purchased a tree that had spider eggs in it unknowingly. Shortly after putting the tree in her house, they hatched. She received a full blown baby spider infestation as a Christmas gift that year. Another student explained to me that her cat had taken down her family’s entire tree, breaking ornaments. Moral of the story is, Christmas trees can be more hassle than they’re worth.
Christmas carols and movies prove to be another area of upset. Those of the student population that work have been tirelessly listening to the same holiday songs. One student who works in the Harford Mall explained, “Christmas songs have been ruined for me because of work.” Of course everyone has their preferences on what Christmas carols are best, like one of my friends elaborated on their hatred for the song White Christmas. “I hate it when people say it’s going to be a white Christmas,” he explains, “You just can’t make meteorological inferences that far in advance!” Just like carols, Christmas movies have been constantly playing on all family channels. One teacher complained, “All new holiday movies focus on ‘not believing’ in Santa Claus. I’m still trying to keep this story ongoing with my children, and this skepticism is not helping.”
An older gentleman at Sears commented on holiday décor around Thanksgiving, saying, “Christmas comes earlier every year, I’m sick of it!” This is the pet peeve that sparked the idea to write this story. Although, I was told, in the Philippines they start celebrating Christmas in September. I guess we really don’t have much room to complain.
Lastly, the best bad holiday story I received was from my friend who told me, “Well there was that last time when I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus…”
I think this article has revealed to me that many of us our Scrooges around this holiday season, including me. I could think of more Christmas annoyances over things that I actually enjoy. Personally, I think Christmas is a capitalist and Americanized holiday that has always been ridden with disappointment. With that in mind, I realized I was viewing Christmas in the wrong light. This is the time to focus on your friends, family, and giving to the needy. Not the Christmas tree, carols, movies, gifts, or the weather forecast. In conclusion, have a safe and happy holiday with what really matters, your family. Oh, and watch out for falling Christmas Trees!